COP28 in Dubai was hailed as historic for many reasons - but what was achieved, if anything, in terms of the food system? We've put together this quick-read briefing based on a Chatham House webinar held on 14 December with the Environment and Society team. Not everyone who wanted to go was able to attend, so here are the main overall points, with a run-down from Prof Tim Benton, based at Chatham House, and also our Co-Lead. Read the briefing here.
This project, led by Toritseju Begho at SRUC, was one of 16 scoping studies to receive funding from the AFN Network+. Here Toritseju explains how the project will test the willingness of consumers to replace meat with alternative proteins in their diet.
We know that we need to make the food system in the UK better for the environment. Our project will focus on meat, and the potential willingness of consumers to integrate alternative proteins into their diet. Currently the way we produce meat has a negative impact on the planet. Even if we improve production methods, there will still be a significant environmental impact. Recent research indicates that to effectively meet climate goals, we need to reduce meat consumption. Different kinds of proteins which have less impact on the environment such as legumes, edible mushrooms, insects, ‘meat’ made in labs or meat analogues (e.g., manufactured using protein extracted from plants) could be an alternative. The big question is are people in the UK ready to introduce these alternative proteins into their diets? This innovative project, led by Daniel McKay Fletcher at SRUC, was one of 16 scoping studies to receive funding from the AFN Network+. Here he explains why his team plans to create a web tool to help farmers forecast the greenhouse gas emissions from their manure. Rearing cattle significantly contributes to global warming due to the emissions of potent greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide (released from manure storage, fertilising crops/pasture and the soil) and methane (from cows burping and farting, and from manure storage). Methane and nitrous oxide are thought to warm 27 and 265 times more than carbon dioxide respectively. As a result emissions from the storage of manure from all livestock in the UK is estimated to make up 16% of the global warming potential of our agricultural emissions. Although manure is a big emitter of greenhouse gases, it is also a valuable resource for farmers. It can be used as an organic fertiliser, reducing the need for synthetic fertilisers, which are expensive and emit high quantities of carbon dioxide during production, while increasing soil carbon storage. However, the release of gases from manure during storage reduces the fertility of the manure once it’s applied to the field. Our project will address this challenge by co-designing a web-tool with farmers and consultants. The tool will forecast greenhouse gas emissions from manure to provide farmers with information to make effective decisions to minimise emissions and increase manure fertility. It will also raise awareness of how large emissions from manure can be. The UKRI Agri-food for Net Zero Network+ (AFN Network+) has awarded more than £200,000 to projects which help address the challenge of reaching net zero through agri-food. The projects include a web app to help farmers forecast greenhouse gas emissions from their manure, a scheme to replace soya with faba beans in chicken feed and a plan to improve consumer understanding of alternative proteins. They are among sixteen innovative projects that have received funding.
Why are food and farming hardly talked about at COP? Could this be about to change? If so, how? What or what is holding us back from food system transformation? COP veteran and globally renowned food system transformation expert, Prof Tim Benton (Chatham House, University of Leeds, AFN Network+ co-lead), answered these questions and more in our webinar/ interview held ahead of COP28 in Dubai. This is a lightly edited transcript of the conversation between Tim and Prof Neil Ward (University of East Anglia, AFN Network+ co-lead), plus Tim's answers to participant questions. Read and download it here.
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May 2024
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UK Research has funded this Network+ with the support of these 4 councils:
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Privacy Policy |